Things Left Unsaid
by Bellantara
Summary: The reunion between Lance and Sven on Pollux. Rated M because we all know what a mouth Lance has. . . .
1. Chapter 1

A/N: A gift for Miss Harmony Winters, who asked for a Sven/Lance fic. I don't own them, just borrow them on occasion.

Nothing scares me. I've made a reputation out of that, of doing the wildest, most reckless things in and out of a cockpit. Nerves of steel, too. So, my hands shaking on Red's controls? Leftover adrenaline from the fight with that Iron Maiden bitch. Same with the knot my guts have tied themselves into. Not nerves at seeing HIM again, and sure as hell not fear of what he's gonna say to me. I don't get scared, and I'm never nervous. Yeah. Keep telling yourself that, McClain.

When I land on Pollux, he's standing there with his arm around that princess, Romelle. It's obvious they're a couple, and I have to swallow a lump in my throat. I thought he loved me; I damn sure still love him. I should've known, I guess; choice between a beautiful princess and me is no contest. I know how fucked up I am. . . Still, it hurts more than I imagined to see him with the woman he so clearly loves more than me. Fuck.

God, he's changed. I know the others don't think so, but not even Keith knows Sven as well as I do. He's . . . not quite sane anymore, and God help me, it's my fault.

I don't even remember what we fought about that morning; I do know it was some stupid shit I started, trying to be all badass. We were still pissed at each other when we escorted the Princess down to the village; guess that's why I was stupid enough to run after Haggar's damned cat. I should've been dead; hell, I thought I WAS dead, until Sven showed up with that sword, bailing me out as always. Then, to come back with Keith, to find him laying there in the dirt, with way too much damned blood under him. . . I thought I was watching him die, right there, and still couldn't say what I needed to. Not with Keith there watching. Yeah, I know, it sounds lame, even to me. That's the McClain ego for you.

I couldn't find the words when he was on Ebb, and then he was lost on Doom, where no words could reach him anyway. So, I lost him, Romelle found him and claimed him for her own. No more than I deserve, leaving him to face Haggar, never telling him that I was sorry, that I loved him and wanted to spend my life with him. Gotta fuck up everything, don't you, McClain? Guess the old man was right, after all.

Dinner's fast becoming a nightmare; Sven is doing all his talking to Romelle, coaxing her to eat and whispering things that I can't hear. Keith and Allura are doing their usual "pretend we don't have the hots for each other" dance, and all of a sudden I just can't take any more. I get up and leave the room; not like anybody's going to notice I'm gone.

I find my way out to the garden, and, safe from prying eyes, can finally let out the hurt that started building-hell, let's be honest; it started when I watched them carry Sven onto the medivac to Ebb. I thought I lost him then; now I know I've lost him for good. Damn.


	2. Chapter 2

He's here, at last. The whole team is, actually, but he's the one I ache to see, to touch again. Lance it was who kept me going during my recovery on Ebb; Lance it was who I dreamed of during my darkest days on Doom. And now I'm standing on Pollux, watching him land Red Lion with the easy grace he brings to everything he does. Romelle slips up beside me, still crying from visiting her father and brother's graves. Without thinking, I put an arm around her shoulders. . . just in time for Lance to climb out of Red and see it. Not even the robeast's claws going into my back hurt like seeing the joy fade in his eyes.

It took me a long time, back at the Academy, to convince Lance that I loved him. He was so sure I was completely straight, and his father. . .even in my own language I have no words for what his father did to him. How can a parent tell his child that he contaminates all he touches, that he is worthless and no one will ever love him? It was a very good thing Charles McClain was beyond my reach when Lance told me about his childhood; I would have shown him WHY my ancestors were the terror of Europe. Instead, I went to the gym and flattened our practice dummy, terrifying the little first year cadets.

Despite all his accomplishments, the infuriating cockiness that he shows the galaxy at large, that insecurity is still very much a part of Lance. If I remembered that, I would behave very differently with Romelle. But it has been over a year since I last saw Lance, and I can be dense at the worst possible times.

Romelle is still very fragile; the only people she truly trusts are Bandor and myself. So, to help her feel secure around the Force, I sit next to her at dinner, coaxing her to eat and whispering encouragements. Halfway through dinner, I hear a choking noise and look up just in time to see Lance run from the dining room.

Keith meets my questioning look with an accusing one. "Should've told him about you and Romelle, instead of rubbing his face in it when we got here. That was low, and you know it."

Of course I do. I know Lance better than Keith ever has. But. . . "Vhat are you talking about? Dere is noting between me and Romelle. I tink of her as a sister." Romelle nods in agreement, and Keith sighs, shaking his head.

"Sure didn't look that way to me, Sven. And if it didn't to me. . . "

My turn to sigh."Ja. Lance vill haf us engaged in dat head of his. I better go talk to him." I leave the table and find Lance huddled in the garden, radiating misery. "Elske, talk to me," I say softly, stopping beside him.

He looks up at me, angrily swiping tears away with the back of his hand. "Why don't you talk to your _girlfriend?"_ he hisses.

The venom in his voice, and the hurt under it, break my heart. "She is not my girlfriend. Or anyting but a sister." I drop to my knees, ignoring the pain that flares in my back, and put an arm around Lance's unresisting shoulders. "Lanse, min Lanse, do you still doubt dat you are de only von I vill ever love? All I could tink of in de hospital vas getting better so I could get back to you."

Lance suddenly turns and buries his face in my shoulder, sobbing as I've never heard him do. "I-I thought I lost you on Ebb. . .then to come here and see you with her. . . told myself I deserved it. . ."

I hold him and rock him, whispering soothingly to him in Norwegian. "It's all right. I'm here. I love you. I'll always love you."


	3. Chapter 3

"I love you. I'll always love you." I thought I'd never hear those words again, for so many reasons. But he said them, and now I'm wrapped in his arms, the safest place in my world outside of Red. Sven always sees through the bullshit front I put up, so I don't even try. Instead, I bury my face in his wonderfully broad shoulder, breathing in his scent as I cry out my fears and the pain of thinking I had lost him. He still smells as he always did: like sitting in front of a fire with a winter storm raging outside, and I can't get enough of it.

When my tears subside, he sits back to look at me, still holding me. "My poor Lance," he says softly, freeing one hand to wipe the tears from my cheeks. "I've done nothing but hurt you since you landed. I am so sorry."

I'm lousy with words, and not sure I can talk right now anyway, so I grab a handful of his shirt and pull him to me, putting all my love and forgiveness into my kiss. He's too surprised to move for a second, then he kisses back so hard he knocks me over. All the love and passion he's ever had for me, plus the desperation of a year apart, is in his kiss, and it bruises my lips. When we finally come up for air, I'm so hard the barest touch will make me come; Sven's in the same state, judging by the look he's giving me. Damn, I haven't been this horny since I was fifteen.

"I tink ve shuld take dis to min room," he says carefully, his accent heavier as it usually is when he's stressed or turned on. I nod and follow him to his room,praying we don't run into anyone. These damned uniforms don't leave anything to the imagination on a GOOD day; right now I look like something out of a holoporn. Fortunately,the halls are empty.

In his room I get the clearest indication yet of just how much Sven has changed. He's always been the aggressor in our relationship; always making the first move, always taking control. Now, though, he's just standing there looking at me, lust warring with uncertainty in his eyes. "Lance, elske," he breathes, raising a hand to the zipper of my flight suit then stopping. "I don't know. . .I vant you so badly, but I. . . been so long, I don't vant to hurt you."

"You won't. I want you just as badly." And with that I'm all over him, kissing, stroking any and everything I can reach. Just like in the garden, he hesitates at first, then he all but tears my flight suit off and pulls us both down to his bed. It's the fastest sex we've ever had; eighteen months apart makes both of us damned minutemen.

When we both can think again, I curl into Sven's chest, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me. "So, what are your plans?" I ask drowsily, playing with the cross he wears.

"I don't know. If I can pass de Garrison physical, I could go back to being a navigator, go back to Earth. . . " He looks at me almost shyly. "I vant to stay vit you, elske, but. . .I can't be a full time pilot any more, and I vould not take Blue avay from de Princess."

I prop on an elbow to look at him. "What if there were something useful you could do on Arus? Not make work, either; something real?"

"Like vhat?" he asks warily.

"I'll have to run it by Keith, but. . ." I chew my lip for a minute thinking. "Keith and I seem to be running a contest to see which one of us can get hurt the most, and he's winning by a fucking landslide. Nothing bad enough to ground either of us yet, but sure as hell that's coming, and the little stuff would heal better if we had someone to fill in for a while. Beyond that. . .it would help us a lot to have someone in Castle Control with actual combat experience, instead of a diplomat making do." I grin at him. "Interested?"

An enthusiastic kiss is all the answer I need. "Welcome home, love. Forever."

"Forever," he repeats softly, then gets out of bed and rummages through a dresser drawer. After a few minutes, he comes back to the bed, holding something in his closed fist. "I tought I vould never see you again, vhen dey took me to Ebb," he says softly. "And vhen I vas taken to Doom, I vas sure of it. Now I haf you back, and I never vant to lose you again." He slowly goes to one knee, and opens his hand to reveal a wedding band carved with dragons and set with deep blue sapphires. "Lance Charles McClain, vill you do me de honor of becoming my husband?"

I'm not ashamed to admit I'm crying to put Allura to shame right now. "Yes, yes! Gladly!" He puts the ring on my left hand, then I pull him back into bed, where we spend the rest of the night celebrating.


End file.
